There is so much midweek football action this week. Too much to ignore for betting purposes.
Between Tuesday and Thursday there are big games in the FA Cup, the Premier League and the Championship, as well as vital knockout games in the Champions League, Europa League and Conference League.
We’ve picked out the best bets across all three days. Our nine selections are the ones we feel are the most likely to happen, allied with offering some sort of value for backers.
Leyton Orient to Beat Mansfield – League 1, Tuesday, 7.45
At a general 9/10 and 10/11, Leyton Orient are good value in their clash with Mansfield on Tuesday night.
Currently sitting seven points above their opposition, Orient come into this game on the back of their impressive performance against Man City in the cup. That game may have taken something out of them, but they have enough to beat a very out of sorts Mansfield.
Charlton to Beat Peterborough – League 1, Tuesday, 7.45
There are fourteen places and 17 points between these two sides in League One. That alone makes Charlton genuine favourites at home, but we also note that their current form since the beginning of December reads WLDLDWWWDLLWWWDW. There’s no reason why it should suddenly dip.
Conversely, Peterborough have not kept a single solitary clean sheet away from home in any competition this season. Charlton look certain to score and if they do, they’ll be much shorter than their current general 4/6.
Bradford to Beat Accrington – League 2, Tuesday, 7.45
This is a simple one: 4th v 20th with 20 points between them. Bradford have also won 14 league games to their opposition’s seven.
With all that, all we look for is a drop in form or mood. We’re not seeing that, Bradford having won 8 of their last nine while Accrington haven’t won in three and are struggling to score goals.
Gateshead to Beat Braintree – National League, Tuesday, 7.45
It was always expected that Gateshead would have a strong season, but yet more managerial upheaval (or poaching) derailed them a tad. They are now 12 points off the title but do have two games in hand on leaders Barnet which shows you where they stand at this level.
The team has had a troubling few weeks, but after drawing with Oldham the Heed registered a big win (4-0) at Wealdstone at the weekend and seem to be back in their swing now. They are around 8/13 and 4/7 to get the job done.
Monaco to Beat Benfica – Champions League, Wednesday, 8.00
At a general 13/10, we could argue Monaco are too big a price for this game. In late November they lost 3-2 at home to this opposition but did so via two late goals after going down to ten men.
As well as that, they beat Barcelona 2-1, Crvena Zvezda 5-1 and Aston Villa 1-0 in this competition at home so look well equipped on their own patch.
AC Milan to Beat Feyenoord – Champions League, Wednesday, 8.00
If they’re in accumulators, it’s always risky backing away teams but there is genuine value in Milan going to Rotterdam on Wednesday at 6/5 and 5/4.
Feyenoord have an aggregate goal difference of 8-9 at home in the Champions League this season, that despite a very surprising 3-0 success against Bayern Munich. Milan on the other hand are 7-6 up on the road, despite going to Real Madrid.
West Brom to Beat Blackburn – Championship, Wednesday, 8.00
This is a close one on paper, West Brom being only one place and two points above their opposition going into this week. That is reflected in the odds though, the Baggies being a tempting enough 4/5 at home.
West Brom have 28 points at home and a goal difference of 21-9 from 15 home games, Blackburn having 16 points and a goal difference of 13-17 against from the same number of away games.
PAOK to Beat FCSB – Europa League, Thursday, 8.00
The Thessaloniki side are generally solid at home, including holding a record of 3-1-1 in the Europa League so far this season. The Romanian club’s record away in the same competition reads 2-2-1 though they did beat PAOK here earlier in the season. The home side are hellbent on revenge at around 4/6 and may get it.
Pafos to Beat Omonia Nicosia – Conference League, Thursday, 8.00
This all-Cypriot affair could be tight, reflected by our selection’s general price of around 17/10 away from home.
Omonia did beat Pafos away in the league earlier in the season (1-0), but the west coast side are now top of the league and some ten points clear of their opposition domestically.
How to Use Our Midweek Football Selections
There are no fewer than nine selections here. One long accumulator is always possible, but only at small stakes as it’s highly unlikely they all win but the bet does come approximately to a tempting 340/1.
Another way to do it is to split any multiple bets up day by day. We have four on Tuesday, three on Wednesday and two more on Thursday making it easier to back them in small chunks.
Finally, all combinations of singles, doubles and trebles are open. Doing it this way means that no matter the results on Tuesday, your bet is still alive going into the rest of the week.